Balloon Flower dead heading?

Question

Once flowered does one leave the old head on or is it better to snip it off? I’m sure a novices question but honestly want to do it correctly … thanks in anticipation

Answer 1

We’ve all been told that dead-heading prolongs blooming. This is true of balloon flower. I cut off spent blooms a couple times a week but I know others who don’t. I find it relaxing; others find it a chore. I think the plant looks better without all those seed pods and dead-heading prevents prolific self-sowing. Ultimately, you are the gardener and what works best for you is fine. If you dead-head, do so very carefully as often the next bloom is very close to the stem of the expired bloom. Cut the flower off close to the flower stem. Do not cut the flower stems until late in the season when the leaves begin to die off. A totally different approach is to not deadhead but to cut the entire plant back by half after the first flush of bloom is over. As with catmint, this may trigger another flush of bloom.